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Player ratings: Pumas show heart

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:56

Argentina were courageous but were ultimately unable to keep up with the pace of the Springboks in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Pumas played with the heart and passion expected from them in their historic Rugby Championship opener and although they weren’t as competitive as they would have liked, they blazed the trail for future Argentine teams to take it to the mighty Springboks.

Quintin van Jaarsveld rates the Pumas players.

15 Lucas Amorosino
One of the key players who didn’t come to the party. Poor unforced knock-on five metres from his own try-line and a missed tackle moments later that saw opposite number Zane Kirchner score the opening try of the match.4/10

14 Gonzalo Camacho
Excellent workrate and a headache for the Springboks on attack. Had the edge over direct opponent Lwazi Mvovo. 6.5/10

13 Marcelo Bosch
Contained the Bok skipper well and answered back with a couple of strong runs of his own.6/10

12 Santiago Fernández
A standout in the Argentine backline. Good early turnover on Jean de Villiers and another on Kirchner that resulted in the newcomers’ first points.7/10

11 Horacio Agulla
Overshadowed by the other wings on the field. Needs to get more involved.5/10

10 Juan Martín Hernández
The veteran flyhalf’s showing summed up the Pumas’ performance as a whole. He started well and his tactical kicking was pinpoint accurate before things went pear-shaped in the second half. His back-to-back missed kicks at goal were a hammer blow to the visitors’ morale. 6.5/10

9 Nicolas Vergallo
A slow start but found his rhythm once the nerves settled. 6/10

8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe
Proved himself as a world-class player. He was everywhere – carrying the ball, fielding high balls and featuring prominently in the line-outs.7/10

7 Álvaro Galindo
Often overzealous at the breakdown but certainly didn’t lack intensity.5/10